Massachusetts

February 08, 2008 -- BOSTON - Today, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office, as part of a coalition of 15 other state Attorneys General, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the City of Baltimore, MD, and several environmental organizations, were successful in an appeal before the United States Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., related to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 2005 regulations pertaining to mercury emissions from electric power plants.    » read more »

February 08, 2008 -- BOSTON - Today, a Norfolk Superior Court jury convicted a Weymouth, Massachusetts man of larceny and insurance fraud in connection with his use of a deceased individual’s name and information to obtain motor vehicle insurance. Christopher A. Falco, age 25, was convicted of Motor Vehicle Insurance Fraud (two counts), Larceny over $250 (two counts), and Perjury. Superior Court Judge Janet Sanders sentenced Falco to serve two years in the Norfolk House of Correction, six months committed, with the balance suspended for three years.    » read more »

February 07, 2008 -- BOSTON – Today, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Officereached a settlement withMerck & Co., Inc, in which the Commonwealth’s Medicaid programwill receive $10,502,943as part of two separate global settlements totaling $649 million. The settlements involve the Attorneys General of 49 states and the District of Columbia, and the federal government.    » read more »

February 2, 2008 -- ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that former Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci has endorsed John McCain for president.    » read more »

February 2, 2008 -- ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced a host of new endorsements from leaders across Massachusetts.    » read more »

02/02/2008 -- WASHINGTON DC – Senator John Kerry wrote to the President, demanding immediate action to bolster the readiness of the Massachusetts National Guard. According to a new study of the preparedness of the Guard, Massachusetts units only have 46 percent of the Humvees, helicopters, and weapons needed to respond to an emergency. Only 40 percent of “dual-use” equipment used for warfighting or civilian emergencies are available to the Commonwealth. Kerry cited the stress on Guard members fighting in two simultaneous wars as the reason for the shortfall.    » read more »

January 31, 2008 -- ARLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced that Ken Chase, 2006 Massachusetts Republican Nominee for U.S. Senate, has endorsed John McCain for president. Chase, who won both the State Republican Nominating Convention and the Republican primary, was chosen as the GOP's standard bearer against Ted Kennedy in 2006. Mr. Chase issued the following statement on his endorsement:    » read more »

BOSTON - The Coast Guard aided a scallop boat crew today when their boat lost steering ability in frigid waters about 15 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Faced with 10-15 foot seas, 40-knot gusts and and icing conditions, the crew aboard the Charlotte Jean II radioed Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England at about 4 a.m., when their gear failed.

The sector dispatched the Coast Guard Cutter Sanibel, which arrived at about 8:45 a.m., and took the New Bedford, Mass.-based boat in tow.    » read more »

January 23, 2008 -- BOSTON – Today, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley along with Attorneys General from 17 states, the Corporation Counsel for the City of New York, and the City Solicitor for Baltimore sent a letter to Stephen L. Johnson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the agency’s lack of progress in responding to last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA. A copy of their letter is attached.    » read more »

January 23, 2008 -- BOSTON – The joint venture of Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, Bechtel Infrastructure Corp., and PB Americas, Inc., f/k/a Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas, Inc. ("Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff”), the management consultant to the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (“the Big Dig”) has agreed to pay over $407 million to resolve its criminal and civil liabilities in connection with the collapse of part of the I-90 Connector Tunnel ceiling and defects in the slurry walls of the Tip O’Neill tunnel.    » read more »

Boston, January 15, 2008 -- This week EPA recognized the accomplishments of a New England landfill methane partner that is generating renewable energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.    » read more »

Proposal Changes Governance to Create a Seamless System from Pre-K through Higher Education

BOSTON – Thursday, January 10, 2008 – Keeping to his vision to offer a world-class education for all children in Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick today will file legislation under Article 87 of the Commonwealth’s Constitution to reorganize the state’s education system by creating a cabinet-level secretary of education.    » read more »

January 07, 2008 -- BOSTON – Today, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office announced a record of $26.7 million recovered in settlements and judgments for Medicaid fraud cases in 2007. The sum represents the largest amount of Medicaid dollars recovered by the Attorney General’s Office, surpassing all years since the creation of the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Division, which was previously known as the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, in 1978.    » read more »

Bush Administration Slams the Door on Implementation of Controls in Massachusetts and Many Other States; First Time in 40 Years EPA Has Denied a Waiver

January 02, 2008 -- BOSTON – Today, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office joined a lawsuit brought by California against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to uphold the right of states to regulate greenhouse gas pollution from automobiles. Massachusetts joins the Attorneys General of 14 other states in the action, which is being filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California.    » read more »

January 04, 2008 -- BOSTON – Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley’s Office filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against Ohio-based insurer Great American Insurance Group for submitting a false insurance premium quote to a Massachusetts company. The complaint seeks relief in the form of restitution, attorneys’ fees, civil penalties, and a court order prohibiting the company from engaging further in unfair and deceptive business practices.    » read more »